Sunday, March 29, 2009

The Clivia Club


I'd never heard of Clivia until one summer, when Mom and I were in our state capitol, shopping at the great Easton Town Center. We were in Smith & Hawken, when she spied a yellow Clivia on sale. I don't remember what she paid for it, but I do remember she was pretty excited to find it, and although it was on sale, I still thought it was plenty to pay for a houseplant.

She had it for a few years and it never bloomed for her, so a couple of winters ago, she asked me if I would take it for the winter. I put it in Jenna's old room, which is kept at a very low temperature all winter, and I watered it now and then. In the spring, I gave it back to her. She then gave it to another gardener, for whom it promptly bloomed. Go figure.


I never gave Clivias another thought until they started popping up here and there in the blogosphere. I'd seen them for sale in catalogs and they still weren't cheap. Park's Seed had seeds, but even those were relatively expensive, and it didn't seem like a plant that would be too easy to grow from seed and that might take forever to reach bloom size.

Then I walked into Meijer a couple of weeks ago and there they were - lots of them - in all their orangey goodness. Like rays of sunshine, they were. When I saw they were $19.99, I quickly dismissed all thoughts of an economic crisis and picked out the best one to come home with me. I was now a Clivia owner!

Jodi, of bloomingwriter fame, left a comment here, stating she was now a member of "The Clivia Club," having bought one of her own. I thought, what a great idea! There are those bloggers out there that are long-time Clivia growers and then there are the newbies like me. Wouldn't it be great if we could all help each other out to ensure success with this very special plant?


So, today is the first day of the rest of The Clivia Club's life. I'll be the President since I'm forming the club, and I'm appointing Jodi as Vice President, since she inspired the idea. I'm not sure we need any other officers, but we do need club members! I'll get my graphic designer daughter to make an official logo for us, that members can post on their blog. I've created a group on Facebook, for those of you who play there.

If you want to be a member of this club, the only requirements are that you own a Clivia. If you want to own a Clivia and want to play along, you can become an honorary member, because you just never know when a Clivia will jump right into your car and follow you home. Just leave a comment here and visit the Facebook page here.

Welcome to The Clivia Club!

Add your name to the Club Roster below:



17 comments:

Cathy S. said...

Hi Kyle,

Thanks for the invite on your clivia
club, sorry I cannot join at the moment, I am just to busy with weddings this year (work). Maybe later? Your photos and clivia are amazing.

Kylee Baumle said...

Cathy ~ Oh, there isn't really any responsibility involved on your part! It's just for fun, and just a resource for Clivia owners to ask advice from another Clivia owner. What it would actually be is a blog roll with Clivia owners listed. On Facebook, you can do only what you want to do, such a post a photo of your Clivia.
Reconsider? :-)

EAL said...

I will become an honorary member now because I definitely want one and soon a full member as I do intend to get one.

Cathy S. said...

Okay, I can do that.
thanks

Anonymous said...

All right, you guys need to stop this. Everytime I see some delicious flower on another blog, I have to run out and buy it too. I saw orchids everywhere, ran out and got one. Saw a pretty kalanchoe, found it at Meijers and brought it home. Argh! This is getting expensive! I will not be joining the Clivia Club. I won't!

Kylee Baumle said...

EAL ~ Good for you! :-)

Cathy ~ That's the spirit!

Robin ~ Ha! I don't believe you! Gardeners = Enablers. I got mine at Meijer. Get going! They're open 24 hours, you know. :-)

Corner Gardener Sue said...

Now, listen, I just splurged on a $20 hellebore plant, my first one, and hopefully not the last. That clivia sure is pretty, too. Is it outside in the summer?

Lisa at Greenbow said...

If I could find this orange one I would become a memeber. It is gorgeous.

Carol Michel said...

I've had Clivia plants for about 20 years. I got one for Christmas around 1989 or so, and at one time had it split into five Clivia plants, but then I had some mealybug issues, so now I have 2 Clivia plants that have to live in isolation in my den. I plan to put them outside this spring and once and for all get rid of the mealybugs.

So, I guess I qualify to be in the club!

Carol, May Dreams Gardens

(P.S. They often form little extra fans, like a daylily, and are easy to divide at that point.)

Kylee Baumle said...

Sue ~ LOLOL. I know exactly how you're feeling! But go ahead. Clivias are special, you know.
Yes, mine will be outside this summer.

Kylee Baumle said...

I just added a nifty Mr. Linky form so you can easily add your name to the membership roster. :-)

Gardens by T said...

Thanks for the invite. I only have one plant but love and appreciate clivias. Just returned from Los Angeles where they were blooming in beds along the sidewalk...I was so jealous.

Muum said...

this is great for me, I have a Clivia I've had for two years. never bloomed yet, and now it has some white gumpy stuff (technical terms, I know) on the inside of the leaves..??? help, Clivia club!!!!

Kylee Baumle said...

Lisa ~ Head to Meijer, Lisa! They have lots of them!

Carol ~ Oooh, I hope this one does well enough that I get babies, too!

Terri ~ Oh wow, wouldn't that be great to live somewhere that you could grow them like that?

Muum ~ I think maybe Carol might be able to help you with that! Maybe they're mealybugs?

Jan said...

Clivia does look enticing, Kylee! It's a plant I know nothing about (although I don't know much about many plants; that's why I visit gardeners like you;-) It reminds me of a cross between a lily and an iris. I'm not great with either of those...but it's never too late to try. Now if I could just find a place to put one!

Kerri said...

Count me in, Kylee. I'm a newbee clivia owner, so any advise will be welcomed. My plant was given to me last summer by my equally obsessed gardening friend, Marie. How lucky can a gardening girl get? It hasn't bloomed yet, but is looking healthy upstairs in a cool room...which I think I told you before. Sorry to repeat myself.
May we all have blooms on our clivias! :)
Yours is beautiful.

"Daffodil Planter" Charlotte Germane said...

Kylee, My mother has lovely clivia in the Bay Area, so I'll join for both of us. Doing some research tonight for her and found this post in a search of Blotanical. Yeah Stuart!

Now, off to FB to the Club page :-)

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